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Rock Merritt

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In the spring of 1945, paratrooper Rock Merritt was selected in a program that sent one man from each line company home for a ten day leave. He returned to Europe on the day the war there ended. His outfit, the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, was then chosen to be the honor guard for Eisenhower's headquarters in Frankfurt. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.) (5:27)

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Former paratrooper Rock Merritt discusses the origin of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment's logo, the Red Devil. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.) (1:45)

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He had thirty years in the Army, but Rock Merritt was tapped for a job in Vietnam as Sergeant Major to a general in Cam Ranh Bay. It was a plum post that he volunteered for because of a policy that all Sergeant Majors had to serve a tour there. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.) (2:51)

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He already had a long, distinguished career in the Army but Rock Merritt wasn't done. He served in the Dominican Republic, where he had a hard time believing that taxpayer money was being used to buy off the combatants, and in Panama, where he got to bring his wife with him. (This interview made possible with the support of JOHN & BARBARA MCCOY.) (3:24)

Rocky Bleier

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Rocky Bleier remembers making use of his running back skills to retrieve a precious gift from home during a Vietnamese artillery attack. (4-time Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steeler. www.rockybleier.com) (2:28)

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Rocky Bleier tells his story of determination--from the football fields of the U.S. to the rice-patties of Vietnam, and back again despite a life-changing injury he suffered during the war. (4-time Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steeler.) (14:29)

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Rocky Bleier remembers the "foxhole prayer" that he made as he lay wounded after a grenade explosion in Vietnam. (4-time Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steeler. www.rockybleier.com) (5:10)

Rody Conway

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Rody Conway always wanted to be in the Army. His father was career Army, and Rody’s dream was realized in the West Point Class of 1959. Then it was on to Ranger school, which was to prove highly useful later on. (3:21)

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Fresh from training, Rody Conway was a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne, but his first duty assignment was less exciting, handling security in Minneapolis. Then he headed for the Advanced Infantry Course at Ft. Benning. (5:50)

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Rody Conway knew that it was a waste of time to be in the infantry and not go into combat, so he pushed to get sent to Vietnam. First was a six-week course on what to expect, like the fact that “friend” and “shoot” was the same word in Vietnamese. (7:30)